THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
We always have those movies where you have an interest in seeing it, but take forever on actually doing so. For me, it was 1971's Dirty Harry.
PLOT
The film takes place in San Francisco and shows a serial killer dubbed 'Scorpio' killing a woman via sniper from one building to another. Inspector Harry Callahan begins investigation soon after the murder and finds a note that implies the man will keep killing if not paid $100,000. In order to stall time and to track this man down, The Mayor (John Vernon) agrees to pay. During a lunch break, Callahan stops a robbery and kills three members, sparing the fourth when out of ammo. He is than assigned with rookie inspector Chico Gonzalez (Reni Santoni) to look for Scorpio. They scout Saints Peter and Paul Church at night, which was the confirmed last spotting of their perp, only to be briefly mistaken by locals as peeping toms. Right after that, he saves a man from attempting suicide. By morning, the body of an African child is found dead. Based on the original blackmail letter, there is worry that a priest could be next. The next night, Scorpio is caught during a stakeout but escapes after shooting another officer. By the next day, he sends another ransom letter and now demands $200,000 or he will kill a teenage girl he has captive. Callahan is assigned to deliver the money at a marina, and Chico follows unbeknownst to authorities and the killer. Our lead protagonist is forced to answer pay phones that take him all the way to Mission Davis Park. By the time he gets there, Scorpio attempts to kill him but Chico saves his partner by shooting at him. However, he gets wounded when he shoots back. Callahan is able to injure him by stabbing his leg with a concealed knife, resulting in him limping away. He goes to the hospital after getting a call that a man with an injured leg came in. The doctor reveals that he lives in a room in Kezar Stadium. He goes there with officer Frank DiGorgio (John Mitchum) to stop him. When they chase him down the football field, Callahan shoots his injured leg and demands the girl's location. She is sadly found dead on a hilltop overlooking Golden Gate Bridge. Scorpio is let go because the evidence against him is inadmissible. Although he is scouted by the inspector, he pays a man to beat him up so he can blame the inspector for it. By night, he steals a gun from a liquor store shopkeeper and by the next morning, he hijacks a school bus full of kids. This time, he demands to a plane to leave the city, along with $200,000. Callahan is able to find the bus and jump on it, hoping to stop the killer. As the bus driver faints, Scorpio takes control of driving in order to get the inspector off his tail. When he crashes through a fence, Callahan is flown into a mound of sand. The antagonist ditches the bus in order to avoid capture. Callahan follows him down a mill up until he takes another child hostage, one who was fishing. The protagonist is able to save the boy by shooting Scorpio's left shoulder. Shortly after shooting him in the chest, which kills him, the film ends with Callahan tossing his badge into the lake and walking away.
THOUGHTS
I finally got to see this film in the year of June 2021, almost 50 years apart of its original release. And after all this time, it goes without saying that this film amazed me. Director Don Siegel succeeded in creating such a thrilling action film, a feeling that almost rare in its time. Whenever someone was gonna pull out a gun, you just know it wasn't gonna end well for whichever side. The reason that it seems to stay relevant is because it displayed the perspective on how doing the right thing can sometimes involve going against morals that include bureaucracy. We get this message from Clint Eastwood's incredible performance as Harry Callahan. He is nicknamed 'Dirty Harry' because he does the dirtiest jobs. We create such respect for this character because he is the first authority figure onscreen to defy his superiors to do what has to be done. He is aware that the justice system is corrupted and doesn't care to say it aloud. The speech he gives his enemies about 'feeling lucky' gives me chills constantly because you're so caught up with the mayhem that you can't determine if they're gonna escape with their lives. While this wasn't the end for him (due to returning for sequels), we know that he was at peace with himself after eliminating a vile threat to his city. He may be the star, but that doesn't mean other actors didn't impress me. I got to give a shoutout to Andy Robinson because he really nailed the psychotic nature of Scorpio. Like the Zodiac killer, he was dangerous due to how he killed whoever and whenever he wanted, remaining remorseless each time. So when Harry killed him, you felt a sense of relief that the city felt safer. This movie is awesome but despite given praise, I can admit there's a few flaws after all these years. First off, why is it that exactly five men mistook Harry as a peeping tom? One person makes sense, but five does not sound realistic. I respect Chico for watching out for his partner when it came to night exchange, but how did Scorpio not spot him. For someone who is determined to eliminate his top threat, he should've scouted the cars to see if he was followed. And lastly, why would Callahan stand tall on the bridge before the bus passed? Because of that, he lost the element of surprise and his rescue became much more difficult. Other than that, I still love this movie. In conclusion, Dirty Harry is an incredible action film for discussing relevant topics and creating a relatable protagonist that would inspire those that followed. If you love action, see this one now.
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